shinypixel.co.uk » YouTube Excursions

Just For Money

Rik — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 13:35:43 +0000

If I said to you “Paul Hardcastle”, then you’d probably reply “Who?” or “N-n-n-n-nineteen” and look quite pleased with yourself. If you were to be feeling particularly smug, you might mention the shocking cricket-based cover version of 19 by Rory Bremner.

It’s a bit of a shame that that’s all people seem to remember of Paul Hardcastle. Many years ago I possessed a second-hand Smash Hits tape which had been half taped-over by its previous owner, obliterating Big Fun in favour of various mixes of Hardcastle’s latest singles. Alongside 19 was Just For Money, this excellent synth track which my naive mind assumed contained samples of Del Boy & Rodney. After IDing and tracking it down on 12″ many years later, I was surprised to find that the actual samples are (in order of incredulity) Hardcastle himself, Bob Hoskins, and Laurence Olivier.

Worth a listen.

Paul Hardcastle (feat. Bob Hoskins & Laurence Olivier) – Just For Money

There May Be Glory Ahead

Rik — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 11:24:50 +0000

There’s a World Cup on, y’know. I approve of this particular World Cup song because – among other things – it contains brass, silly moustaches, ukuleles and a kazoo.

Dulwich Ukelele Club – There May Be Glory Ahead

(via The Londonist)

Your Music Is Killing Me

Rik — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 13:33:57 +0000

Not what most people say when they see my record collection, but instead an oldish album title track by The Young Punx. Appearing in video form on their free “digital boxset”, Get To Know The Young Punx, it showcases their genre-hopping style and has a corking Q*Bert-inspired video. Today’s pick, then.

The Young Punx – Your Music Is Killing Me

If You Do, I Do Too

Rik — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 13:32:41 +0000

There’s a lot of music out there – I dredge through hours of podcasts, on average, every day. Occasionally one track pops up and makes me grin from ear to ear from start to finish. If You Do, I Do is one of those, discovered via The Young Punx podcast late on a Friday while glaring at some errant code after a week in the office.

What could be better – or more unexpected – than a Japanese, slightly-too-fast, scratch-filled, electro-house reworking of Pomp and Circumstance (also known as Land of Hope and Glory to you ‘orrible lot)? Answers on a postcard, but only after you’ve been struck agog by what Armand Van Helden’s Koochy would sound like if it gatecrashed the Last Night of the Proms.

Fantastic Plastic Machine – If You Do, I Do

The Great Fashionista Swindle

Rik — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 14:19:08 +0000

Loads to say but not much time to do so, sadly. Most of my plans for this week have fallen through, mind you, so I might get the chance to exude some prose. In the meantime, here’s an excellent tune from a couple of years back which has been gracing the N900 a lot recently:

Dada Life – The Great Fashionista Swindle

This is the original mix – not the (worse) Laidback Luke mix that everyone claims is the original (but isn’t.)

As an aside, here’s what’s been keeping me up all night by rebounding around my head like a squash court:

Edward Hill – Indeed I Am Very Glad To Be Back Home

Aaaaarrgh!

Encore Une Fois

Rik — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 09:55:32 +0000

I discovered this embarrassing-but-danceable slice on the Funky London podcast last week and it kept me humming all weekend. A pop-house rehash of Sash!’s ancient Mysterious Times replacing the original’s miserable overtones with a lot more fun. Maybe the 90s were worth something after all..

Sash! – Mysterious Times (Spencer & Hill remix)

Puttin’ On The Ritz

Rik — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:02:25 +0000

I may well have posted this before, but since I’m actually going to the Ritz today, here’s a YouTube video of Taco’s excellent synthy cover of Puttin’ On The Ritz from sometime back in the 80s…

Taco – Puttin’ On The Ritz

Acid Folk

Rik — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 00:11:17 +0000

Crazy ginger vibrating Scotsman! Flying computerized bagpipes! What’s not to love?

Perplexer – Acid Folk

On The Move

Rik — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 14:37:34 +0000

The perhaps inevitable but still aggravating news has arrived that I can’t stay in my flat next year, so I’ve been out and about looking for hovels. Still staying in West London – I value my limbs – and so far I’ve got a few viewings lined up of chic-ish boudoirs. More news as it happens.

In the meantime it’s a great excuse to slide in this University classic from yesteryear:

Barthezz – On The Move

As usual, it’s gradually floated across the “cheese” line in the intervening years, but the associated memories of an entirely less qualified version of me throwing shapes across a club with friends still bring a tear to the eye. (Alternative mixes with more twazzling and more thonking also available.)

Of course, if I don’t find anywhere to live, I might end up like this plucky little chap, already firmly ensconced in la paddock du fromage…

The Littlest Hobo Theme
(Terry Bush – Maybe Tomorrow)

Mr. Roboto

Rik — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:58:21 +0000

During during a enjoyable late-night musical trawl beginning somewhere near Chicago and petering out between Toto and a Meatloaf ballad, I found Styx floating on the horizon in their own conceptual world with this early-80s synth-rock romp:

Styx – Mr. Roboto

AFK : Love Gemma

Rik — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 13:26:50 +0000

This is a lovely little tune by CatComplex which I find myself listening to quite a lot recently. “Pleasant” is a good word to describe it. As is “Italian”.

CatComplex – Love Gemma

AFK : Curses!

Rik — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:50:16 +0000

Moss Man is an old favourite of mine from the office stereo. The same MP3 of it that made it onto my player sometime around 2007 is still there now, and it appeared on shuffle just as I arrived home the other night.

Curses! – Moss man

Oohhhhhh-ohhhhh

Rik — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:16:57 +0000

There’s just no excuse for this, really.

Except that it’s awesome – especially the bloke with the moustache.

Bodies Without Organs – Chariots Of Fire

AFK : No Ordinary Morning

Rik — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:30:02 +0000

It’s not very often you listen to a song for the first time after over 5 years and it still sounds as good as it did the first time, but that happened to me the other day with this:

Chicane – No Ordinary Morning

AFK : O Superman

Rik — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:07:07 +0000

If you can’t listen all the way through to this song, I don’t blame you. If you can, then it might turn out to be one of the most affecting things you’ve heard.

More info at Wikipedia.

Laurie Anderson – O Superman

AFK : Gunman

Rik — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 12:06:57 +0000

Was this really 1997? Jeez… Damn, I’m old.

Oh well – an excellent slice of the short-lived UK Garage season, with a surprisingly good video to boot which I’d never seen until I happened across this YouTube video.

187 Lockdown – Gunman

AFK : Crowd Pleasers Vol. 1

Rik — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:57:02 +0000

Sampling Rob Acid’s “Happy Answer”, this particular tune was one of my fondest memories from the mid-90s. I only found out the name last week.

Crowd Pleasers Vol. 1 Side A

AFK : Go West

Rik — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:57:36 +0000

This one will definitely give OscarTheGrouch something to smile about. A huge pop favourite of mine which I vividly remember doing Physical Education exercises – it made them almost bearable. It wasn’t until years later when I inherited a load of boxes of records that I realised that it was originally by The Village People.

Pet Shop Boys – Go West

AFK : Feel Free

Rik — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:04:49 +0000

Another one from the M8 covertape archives, some piano-y breakbeat at its arm-waving cheesiest:

Dougal, Vibes & Wishdokta – Feel Free

AFK : E-Creation

Rik — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:14:50 +0000

I’m pretty busy over the next couple of weeks so I won’t be blogging in much detail. Instead I’m lobbing up some bite-sized chunks of videos and photos of interest from my recent rambles.

Firstly, E-Creation ’94 by Q-TEK, an excellent Scottish tune from the first ever rave tape I listened to:

The King

Rik — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 11:49:20 +0000

Another of those spine-tingling moments was to be had when I surfed across this somehow… This was – I think – on Rave In Arms Volume 1, though I first remember it from some ancient covertape that M8 Magazine gave away with a load of Tom Wilson anthems on… It’s The Rhythmic State:

The Rhythmic State – The King

Riddle me this…

Rik — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:44:00 +0000

Another Funkmaster Phil selection from the bowels of YouTube, best described via a maths equation:

Nik Kershaw – 1980s + europop thumping * Cher’s vocoders =

Gigi D’Agostino – The Riddle

“Check out this bad boy”

Rik — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:45:07 +0000

…seems to be more or less the only thing that Funkmaster Phil says these days. But still, he occasionally spurs me off on a ramble around YouTube’s bass-heavy districts, and here’s some notable sonic architecture I recommend you visit:

The Streets – Blinded By The Lights [Nero Remix]

Funkmaster Phil said: “chek this bad boy!!”

Shinypixel says: “THWOB. Highly recommmended.”

Dizzee Rascal – Holiday [Nero Remix]

Shinypixel says : “Hmm… he sounds a bit stretched”

The Prodigy – Take Me To The Hospital [Rusko Remix]

Shinypixel says : “Jesus squelching Christ…”

Eve Stangello – Davali

Funkmaster Phil says : “a ‘tribute’ to steve angello and the swedish house maffia”

Shinypixel says: “Filtery filtery! But it samples Piano In The Dark so it must be good!”

You’ve been Tangoed

Rik — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 11:34:11 +0000

The ever-knowledgeable Funkmaster Phil popped up a moment ago:

I have a feeling that hypnotic tango track was remixed by a german europ dance group called master blaster

Turns out he was right, but my word is it awful. Why not have a lo-MASTERBLASTER-ok for yourself?

Tango in the night

Rik — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:16:58 +0000

It’s a universal truth that Hypnotic Tango by 80s italodisco supergroup My Mine is amazing, and likewise is this video of it featuring Desperate Dan’s chin on vocals and some besuited men with big synthesizers:

…but how on earth did I not notice it was covered by Bananarama in 2005?

Bananarama – Look On The Floor (Hypnotic Tango)

Even worse, it seems that the Vinylshakerz spat out a version recently too on a cheese-tastic Ministry Of Sound imprint, which although totally obvious, actually isn’t that crap:

Vinylshakerz – Hypnotic Tango